Here is an image of my newest painting, not titled yet. I have a few ideas of how to finish it but I want to get feedback from you all on it. I don't want to say too much on it for now I think I'd like your pure thoughts first. I have also included a couple detail shots as well as an image of a new small piece. The last image is a finished shot from my last post where I showed the in progress wall scroll as well.

I really feel like I am starting to discover new things about this subject matter. It is really interesting to continue a series and find out which things you return to and which you don't. I really feel like I am learning a lot. I think practicing in both large and small format as well as different media has helped me understand the subject more clearly.

So I've been sinking my teeth into my new series, I have a few more small pieces and a large in progress one. In terms of critique I could use your thoughts on the overall direction of this series(since I have been on it for a bit) as well as your thoughts on the in progress one. The big one is going to be a wall scroll, I have dowels that I plan to sew into the top and bottom.

I also have a short statement that I wrote for the series if you guys have thoughts on this:

"This series of work investigates the nature of diagrams. Diagrams translate a visual truth to us; they explain organisms and the way that they live through dissection and careful consideration of parts. By examining the question "What would an in progress diagram look like?" I explore this visual language of finding my own truth within line and form. My influences include Richard Diebenkorn and Agnes Martin as well as the drawings of Rachel Whiteread."

So I save my leftover bits. All the paint chippings, peelings, paper fragments, put them together with some drawing and bam! Mutant children.

These are continued play for me. All of these drawings are in various stages, though I think the subconsciously Klee one is almost done. They are loosely based on compositions from my doodle sketchbook, but other than that they are intuitive. Also - I am kinda of in love with prismacolor pencils. They glide like butter and feel like velvet on my painted papers. I also finished the problem child collage from my last post. It’s definitely not my favorite collage, but I am deciding it’s done and that’s that.

Line drawings have saved me from going insane while working on my next problem child collage. I have completed about 50 ink drawings. Whenever I got stuck or frustrated, sumi ink was my savior. But now I am starting to think, what can I do with all of these drawings? More drawing, more line, more play. Sure, I can pull compositions from them, collage the actual ink drawings together, add color, or just leave them be. Only more play will let me know if these are destined to be something else.

It got me thinking about play, the type that's necessary to give you a break from the work you think you should be making - if that makes sense. When your play and experimentations are vastly different from your "body of work," (as it is in my case) at what level does it enter and change that body of work? Does play slowly integrate and overtake? Or does play cause major and sudden shifts in your work? Or is it just play, no strings attached. I am sure it's different for every artist, and I'm sure my play influences my collage works. But...is it ok to freak out when you like your doodles more than your finished work? Because I'm freaking out just a little bit.

Anyways, after the jump is my in-progress problem child collage, and a slideshow of some of my reprieve drawings that I am actually more excited about. I may have to stop the collage for a while and keep inking. We shall see what unfolds.

After some time away, alright, a lot of time away, collages have once again returned to my practice. Not for a lack of wanting, but rather a lack of space, I am only recently able to make large work again. Acrylic, ink, and crusty house paint swatches on butcher and cheap drawing paper are held together with my trusty Yes! paste. The more vertical piece began slowly about 3 months ago. The more horizontal piece took shape in about two weeks.

My own work is very alien to me. The color palette is bolder than my previous work. The compositions are rather segmented and structured, compared to my typical all over spiraling compositions which appear in most of my collages. Even between these two new pieces which overlapped, they are as different from each other as they are my earlier collages.

It makes me think: these feel more like paintings to me, they are, but paintings composed on canvas with set dimensions. You know what I mean? My work has diverged, but for the better? I am unsure.